Eye of the Beholder
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: A chance encounter causes the "power" given to Naruto by Itachi to go berserk. Unfortunately, Itachi neglected to mention the, ah, nature of said power thusly, accidentally bestowing his own doujutsu upon the unfortunate blond. NarutoxHinataxHarem! Fluff
1. Beholden

**A/N: This is what happens when I'm overworked and have little to no time on my hands. I spout random stories that crave attention! I've always been curious about that "power" Itachi gave Naruto. Therefore, I got to wondering. What would happen if it were to manifest, in some unexpected way?**

_There is nothing either good or bad, __but thinking makes it so._

_~William Shakespeare_

**_Kindred_**

Uchiha Itachi was a practical sort.

He knew what was right. He knew what was wrong. He knew of Uchiha Madara. He knew of that fiend's schemes, his plans for the world of the shinobi. And perhaps, he knew, as he stared down the impotent youth before him, that he was about to die. Exchanging friendship for loss. Love for hatred. He would die as a hated man; because that would be his legacy; that would the mark that he would leave on this world.

His entire existence had been a lie, and, until recently, a lie he had been content to perpetuate, right up until the very end. And then he had met Uzumaki Naruto. Technically speaking they had met once before, when he had been assigned to capture him as a jiinchuuriki. Now, he found himself encountering the same boy, years later. After a brief genjutsu discussion/arguement with said boy, Itachi had surprised even himself.

_He'd been charitable._

He decided to lend the boy a bit of his power. And a by a bit, not just "a bit" as he had implied to the boy. He had, in fact, delivered quite a large sum of it to the hyperactive genin, and, in the proccess, debilitated himself even further. Now, as he schleupped forward, dying with every step, the Susanoo fading from his form, he realized just to what extent that he'd overxerted himself.

Itachi hadn't been trying to kill his brother. He couldn't have, even had he desired it. He hadn't the strength for it. He'd simply given Naruto too much power. More than he'd intended to give. More. Much more. Significantly more, endowing him with such an immense amount of chakra that quite frankly, he feared what would become of him. With his death here, he knew that he might never know.

Should that power ever awaken and combine with the seal...

...his mind couldn't bear the thought. He hadn't the strength. He was tired. So tired. So very, very...tired. He could barely keep his eyes open; could barely breathe, because the optic nerves in his eyes had begun to starve from a lack of oxygen. He couldn't feel his legs either, but that didn't matter now, did it? No, none of that mattered anymore. His time was up, and it was time to pay his dues.

Love for hate.

Hatred for love.

Such was the self-destructive karma of the Uchiha.

And he'd gone and stricken Uzumaki Naruto with it. He hadn't meant to burden him with that destiny, but it would seem that fate held other plans for the Kyuubi no Yoko and its erstwhile host. It was almost laughable. No, it was laughable. He, the great Uchiha Itachi, had accidentally_-as if such a word existed-_delivered most, if not all, of his occular doujutsu powers, to Uzumaki Naruto, and he pressed what little remained now into his brother's eyes; whilst his fingers trailed a bloody line down Sasuke's cheek.

It was only fitting then, that he died at the hands of the one person he loved more than anyone else. It was ironic, that the one person he could not bring himself to kill, stood before him now, with hatred and murder and bloodlust in his eyes? It was almost laughable-no, it was laughable. After all these years, all this time, his life's work had come to and end, the end he had sought for so very long.

And he had brought it upon himself. Now he had brought it upon Naruto. He had inflicted him with a fate worse than death; a fate that was guaranteed to make his life a living hell, or potentially a paradise. Itachi hoped for the latter but believed that the former would come to pass first. He chuckled. It really was laughable. He, an Uchiha, murdered nearly all of his traitorous kinsmen and women and spared his little brother.

He'd been loathed, despised, hated, and, despite all that none had been the wiser.

Now, through some mysterious quirk of fate, he'd just bestowed Uzumaki Naruto with a slumbering gift. One that could awaken at any moment and potentially destroy him and the world both.

Itachi painted a soft smile onto his face.

"Sorry Sasuke," He smiled softly, dimpling his brother's forhead with two fingers." There won't be a next time."

Sasuke didn't answer; offering no reaction but for a muscle that jumped in his jaw. Itachi creaked an eye open, regarding the sudden swirl of chakra through a blood-red iris and slate grey gaze. Scarlet sought Scarlet and found each other; the two Mangekyo users, brothers, staring one another down, with less than a yard to separate them. Long had he awaited this day; the day of his death.

But he'd never once expected it to turn out this way.

And so Uchiha Itachi lay there, dying, sprawled out beside his slumbering little brother.

_**0o0o0**_

_"Eh?"_

Miles away, Naruto's right eye mysteriously began to bleed. It came on him all of a sudden. Without pain. Without pause. Without warning. One moment he'd been picking himself out of a crater that he'd been thrown into, the next, this. His right eye inexplicably began to dribble blood. Then his right. There was no discomfort, no irritability, he simple started to shed bloody tears.

He frowned, reaching up to scrub at his eyes with one hand. His palm came away bloody. And still, the tears did not stop. Nay, if anything, they were increasing, both in mass and in volume, spilling over the corner of his eyes and welling over the ledges of his eyelashes. Amazingly, he could still see. He just could not comprehend why the blood hell he was bleeding, and he wasn't even injured!

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata's voice pierced through the fog of confusion for a moment.

He heard a metallic click and looked up to see what had happened. Everyone had stopped moving about, and everyone, including the masked man known simply as Tobi, was looking at him as if he'd grown an extra head. Was he seeing things? Was this some kind of genjutsu or something? Confused, Naruto pressed his hands into the release seal and instinctively molded some chakra to dispel whatever faux illusion that was harassing him.

_It was a mistake._

No sooner had he done so, then jagged lance of pain erupted through his skull. Firey and intense, it shattered every semblance of thought he had and replaced them with an agony so intense that it was indescripable. It felt as if his very chakra coils were aflame. As if he were being eaten alive from the inside out. Naruto hadn't the foggiest idea as to what it was, only that it hurt, and that he wanted it to stop.

And then came the screaming.

He could feel it, that rippling in the atmosphere. That subtle reverberation, rising from deep within the soles of his feet. The distorting of space, as heaven and earth became one; joining, splintering, as the atmosphere rent itself asunder and inexplicably stymied itself shut behind the anomaly. He dabbed a hand across his face in desperation and it came away and he saw nothing, nothing but crimson.

**"Interesting."** A darkened voice mused from nowhere. **"So this was the power he spoke of."** Naruto had a good inkling as to who-or what-it was speaking. But before he could reach out to forcibly silence the fox, its prescence shrank away from him, fleeing from his thoughts with a demented cackle. Deprived of even that lifeline, he cluthced at his skull, unable to make sense of anything but the pain.

_Make it stop._

Screams vied with the sound of voices and explosions for dominance, creating a dissonant racket all around him. Some small part of him gloried in it. Reveling in the chaos and the death and the destruction and the ruination that surrounded him in his mind. A disgusting odor filled his nose, and then his mouth, and he realized that he had just vomitted, losing half of his lunch onto the forest floor.

_Make it stop._

He bent double, clutching his stomach as another tremor seized him. When he looked up he saw strange apparitions, ghoulish bendings of reality, and all manner of things the like of which he had never seen and never wanted again. He couldn't shut them out. He couldn't drive them away. He couldn't even close his eyes; becuase they were there, too, even when he closed them.

_Make it stop!_

His vocal cords were red raw, he could barely even cry out for aid.

"What...the...hell's...happening?"

_"You must endure this."_ A voice like liquid interjected from the nothingness._ "Endure it Naruto, and become stronger than you ever were before."_

He understood but felt no relief when the terrible grip loosened and he fell painfully to the ground. Cool air rushed into his lungs. He coughed as though retching, feeling pain all along his windpipe. Over the sound of hacking and wheezing, footsteps approached. Naruto hadn't the strength to speak. Three footsteps echoed against the emptiness in which he found himself as the last vestiges of the stranglehold flung themselves to the wind.

And then, he was free. Choking, gasping, wheezing for breath. Unable to maintain his assault for lack of oxygen, he rasped out a desperate plea for mercy. Instead, he found his chin turned upward, beckoned by a figure that burned brighter than the sun itself. His vocal cords were red raw. He could not find it anywhere in him to ask the identity of he who had ended his mysterious torment, only that his face, those blue eyes, that blond hair, looked eerily familair.

_'Is that..._

"I'm going to put you under now." The phantasm that looked an awful lot like the Yondaime_-what the hell was he doing in this nightmare world-_spoke softly. "Your eyes might hurt for a little after this, though." Before Naruto could inquire further, a hand touched his forehead. It was warm. Affectionate. A gentle tousling of the hair, something a father might do to tease his son, and a sudden inkling occurred to Naruto.

"Wait, who are-

_"Until we meet again."_ Already painfull bright, the light in his mindscape suddenly swelled to an infinite brightness, obliterating all train of thought._ "Naruto."_

And then there was only blessed, painless blackness.

**A/N: Mwaha! Yondaime for the win! Sorry if it is short! My new job has me starved for attention and time! However, the latest Naruto manga (you guys MUST read it!) Gave me this idea! This takes place during the Itachi vs Sasuke fight, whilst Naruto and co. are busy fightng Tobi aka MADARA who is stalling for time. Itachi dies, and the power he embued in Naruto goes berserk and takes over. Hmmm...now what power of the eyes might that be...hehehe!**

**Review please until I die from overexposure! Although, being a skeleton...I AM ALREADY DEAD! SKULL JOOOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO! (One Piece humor Don't know, don't ask!)**


	2. Beholden II

**A/N: This is what happens when I'm overworked and have little to no time on my hands. I spout random stories that crave attention! I've always been curious about that "power" Itachi gave Naruto. Therefore, I got to wondering. What would happen if it were to manifest, in some unexpected way? Also on another note, I apologize for this chapter being so short. My job is eating up ALL of my time and I have very little to afford unto writing now adays. Some of you might be wondering how that is, considering that Passing the Torch, Prince of Love, and Till Death Do us Part (I seriously recommend you check out these stories as they are among my best works yet) have all received updates. **

**Please understand that as I am working and only have the weekens to myself, it is a miracle I'm able to update at all. But no worries, friends! I am resolved to give you all the Beyond the Shadows chapter you've been longing for, and many, many others, quite soon in fact!**

**Hoping you enjoy and review,**

**Nz.**

_There is nothing either good or bad, __but thinking makes it so._

_~William Shakespeare_

**_Beholden_**

It came as less a surprise, more a relief, when he finally awoke.

At first, anyway.

His first clue that he had returned from the land of nightmares came when darkness truly fell. The visions evaporated, and the voices went with them. For a very welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. He could just rest, and be.

Then new noises began to intrude on the peaceful silence: the whirring of rustling cloth, low-pitched whispers and murmurrs from someone, a fizzing, spitting noise that could have been running water, and other sounds that had no place in his serenity. His heart rose at the sound of a respirator rising above the others. The faint sticking point between each cycle was horribly familair.

Someone_-who was it-_spoke:

"Godaime-sama, he's regainning consciousness.

"Keep him sedated until I'm finished, Shizune." Came the reply. "If he wakes up in the middle of the procedure...

For a moment there was only silence.

Then:

"Yes, ma'am." Was the answer.

Naruto raged against invisible bonds to move limbs he couldn't feel. The babble of noises faded for a moment, then returned, this time with light and sensation accompanying it. A needle swelled before his vision, encompassing his entire existence in a single instant. Then the rest of the world swam dizzyingly into focus. He was strapped prone to a medical table in the middle of an operating theater. Multicolored tubes and wires ran from several places in his body to dark machines stationed around him, and stretching up to the high ceiling above.

A steady bleating that had to be his pulse spiked irrevocably; rocketing skyward with his heartbeat.

"Shizune, the sedative, now!" Tsunade's voice commanded from somewhere beyond this terrifying vision. "Double the dose!"

"Hai!"

There came a sharp, pricking sensation in Naruto's neck. An eerie, icy calm washed over him, taking the terror away with it.

"Sedative injected." Shizune's voice swooned from somewhere above and all around him. "Hearbeat dropping...Vitals stabilizing... He's stabilized, Lady Tsunade." Momentarily, the pain in Naruto's eyes dimmed. He struggled to speak, to struggle, to say something, anything, but the darkness took him in the form of those damned black crows and the pain threatened to obliterate his existence once more, piquing ever higher until...

There was only the blackness.

**0o0o0**

_(Later...)_

Naruto awoke in a haze of pain. His eyes felt like they were on fire; every blink was like shards of glass through his retina. His chest ached so much that it took an act of will just to inhale. The air he inhaled was redolent of medicinal smells. He almost choked on the cloying odors, but just imagining how much coughing would hurt made his throat relax.

Whatever obscure scene he had found himself in, it had passed. He closed his eyes and let out a small sob of relief, but refused to lower his guard all the same. The darkness had still yet to lift from his vision; because his eyes remained painfully scrunched shut. Whether a refusal on his part or simply his body coping with the trauma, he simply could not bring himself to see a thing.

An unspecified amount of time later left his throat dry and his body reeling. Slowly, he came around, the sights and sounds of the world as he knew it proving too much for his slumber once more. He cracked open sleep-gummed eyes to see, to finally _see_ a hand resting lightly on the blanket over his sternum. Attached to the hand was a wrist, to the wrist, an arm and, as his gaze traced the length of said appendage, he found himself staring into the most wonderful pair of pale, lavender eyes.

_Lavender._

The thought sparked something in him; the faintest of tingling sensation. Who was it that had eyes like that, again?

"N-Naruto?" a thick voice asked as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. "NNaruto-kun wait, d-don't!"

Too late; his fingers were already scrabbling at the wrapping around his face. They were soft and they tickled his nose, falling away at his touch fell away at his touch, and it was with an increasing fervor that he ripped and tore at the bandages surrounding his visage. Then he paused, her words reaching him after what felt like an eternity. He paused, his head cocked, ear attuned, alert, for any semblance of sound.

Then he saw her.

Hinata.

For an instant Naruto was struck by how cute she looked doing that, scrubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand like a little kid – nothing at all like the graceful kunoichi that sparred with him. Then he shook his head. This was, well, Hinata. While he was slightly touched that someone_-anyone-_had expressed such adamant concern for him, he had no business thinking such things of them, let alone Hinata.

She wouldn't appreciate it.

_Strange._

Where had _that_ come from?

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, suddenly unable to meed his gaze. Such a strange girl, some small part of him mused, a par that felt strangely alien unto him. If she could not bear to meet his gaze, then he really ought to meet hers, at least. _What on earth?_ Yet again Naruto was stricken by the realization that these were not his usual thoughts; in fact they were quite the contrary.

What on earth was wrong with him?

"Ano...I brought you some ramen." she announced after an awkward pause, holding up a bag. Naruto blinked. Ramen. That was awfully nice of her. Sakura had never brought him ramen before, had she? _Argh!_ Again with the strange thoughts that were not his own! Was that why his head hurt so much? He eyed his hands rather dubiously for nurses had also wrapped them in bandages as well, leaving not an inch of his skin exposed.

_'What's wrong with me?'_

He must've been doing that scowling-but-not-really-scowling thing, because Hinata didn't say anything. _Smile._ He should smile at least. _That_ thought at least, seemed in some small part, normal. Perhaps it was just the sedative wearing off, or something like that. Yes, that must be it. He was fine. Perfectly, absolutely, fine. It was incredibly kind, and thoughtful of her to be so concerned for him, that was all. He paused, realizing the track his thoughts had once again taken, without the slightest provocation.

_...damnit._

Naruto gave her a tremulous smile as Hinata carefully placed the bag on his bed-side table and opened it. She carefully handed him the covered container and a pair of chopsticks with it. Naruto straightened up a little more, smoothing the blankets, and then peered at the bag, feigning interest as he tried to sort out his whirling thoughts.

"Aren't you going to have some?" Hinata asked nervously.

"S-Sure." His voice felt and sounded hoarse, which served to only put him further on edge. He asked for a mirror. Hinata easily procurred one, having taken it from his bed side table and now, she held it out before him so that he might finally see what was bothering him so. But when she finally held up the mirror, Naruto almost screamed to the top of his lungs.

Instead, it emerged at little more than a dry, creaking squeak.

The likeness of Uchiha Itachi stared back at him in the mirror. Gaunt and dark haired, the face of Sasuke's brother blinked back at him. Naruto blinked and the ghostly face of the dead Uchiha was suddenly gone. Gone, but not forgotten. For as he ceased the rapidity of the opening and closing of his eyes, he realized that something was wrong. Very _very_ wrong. So wrong in fact, that he both understood and deplored this "gift" that Itachi had lent him during their conversation in an instant; and rebelled against it.

"What the hell...

Twin pinprick of black crimson peered outward at him from within his face. Likewise his hair had become darkened and considerably and lengthened, threatening to eclipse the forehead; brushing at the whisker marks that still somehow tripled each cheek. Just the sight of it proved too painful; because Uzumaki Naruto was gone. In place of him was a strange specter that looked, sounded, like him, but at the same time was very much not him, just as the Sharingan that leered outward at him were not his own.

_...is this!"_

He wanted to do something. To say something. Something._ Anything._ And yet, he could not. Such was the ravesty that had ensnared him, the hopeless confusion with which'd he'd been taken captive. But whatever it was that held him mute and speechless so, apparently it did not apply to Hinata. Naruto felt the tears come; felt the water brimming on the ledges of his eyes, though no overwhelming sadness dwelled in him whatseover, and then a pair of slim jacketed arms embraced him.

His mind was too frantic; he couldn't make sense of her words, save for the fact that they were soft and held comfort within them. That was all he knew and all he would ever know, as his fragmented mind struggled to piece the pieces together and make sense of it all. In the end, the bloody tears continued to fall, and he was left powerless. Whom ever was there to witness the scene said nothing, and for that, Uzumaki Naruto was grateful.

It was almost as if the original owner of the eyes were crying out in despair alongside him. And with good reason. He knew not what had happened, only that it was something terrible, and that a strange, small part of him, rejoiced in it. That frightened him, more than anything else. More than the Kyuubi within him or the Akatsuki that sought it, this new power left him utterly terrified, and thus, he trembled.

And thus, for the first time, he was held.

This, was the day that Uzumaki Naruto's fate would be changed forever...

_...whether it was for better or worse, remained to be seen._

**A/N: Mwaha! Yondaime for the win! Sorry if it is short! My new job has me starved for attention and time! However, the latest Naruto manga (you guys MUST read it!) Gave me this idea! This takes place during the Itachi vs Sasuke fight, whilst Naruto and co. are busy fightng Tobi aka MADARA who is stalling for time. Itachi dies, and the power he embued in Naruto goes berserk and takes over. Hmmm...now what power of the eyes might that be...hehehe!**

**Review please until I die from overexposure! Although, being a skeleton...I AM ALREADY DEAD! SKULL JOOOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO! (One Piece humor Don't know, don't ask!)**


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